News

RCSUSA will participate in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition for the third year in a row. The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world’s oldest schools’ international writing competition, established in 1883. With thousands of young people taking part every year, it is an important way for young voices to be developed and heard.

Please note that United States students must submit their entries through the United States Branch of RCS rather than through the online system. Entries are due by June 15, 2020, and must be emailed to queensessay@thercs-us.org. Entries must be submitted in PDF (.pdf) only.

RCSUSA welcomes Peggy Grande to the Board of Directors. Peggy served as Executive Assistant to Ronald Reagan from 1989-1999 and is the author of “The President Will See You Now: My Stories and Lessons from Ronald Reagan’s Final Years.” She is an international keynote speaker, a television and radio commentator, and widely published international opinion writer. She is the Chair of World for Brexit, a global coalition which stands in support of democracy worldwide. Peggy is a graduate of Pepperdine University. She is the mother of four children and lives in Los Angeles. We are honored to have Peggy serve on the RCSUSA Board of Directors.

RCSUSA was honored to have 22 of our students awarded Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards from The RCS in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition! RCSUSA selected first, second, and third place winners in both the Junior and Senior categories from among our participants. Each of these students will receive a monetary award. Katie Westbrook, our first place winner in the Senior Category, was a Gold Level Finalist in the international competition. Congratulations to all of our participants – we were impressed with all of the entries!

Senior Category:

First Place – Katie Westbrook, Mississippi School of the Arts (currently University of Iowa)

More than 11,000 students from around the world submitted entries for the 2019 Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition. The RCS has chosen a winner and runner-up from the Junior and Senior Categories. Approximately one-third of entrants were awarded Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards. The United States was honored to have 22 students awarded Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards. The first, second, and third place winners of the RCSUSA Branch will be announced September 13, 2019.

RCSUSA made a donation to Barack H. Obama Magnet School in Jackson, Mississippi. Education is one of RCSUSA’s focus areas, and we are pleased to support this A-rated school that is making a difference in the lives of children every day!

Following the 2019 Mississippi legislative session, Governor Phil Bryant signed House Bill 571 into law. The law went into effect in July. In Mississippi, minors involved with human trafficking are now considered victims and cannot be charged with prostitution. This is an important step in the protection of child victims of human trafficking. RCSUSA is proud of House Speaker Philip Gunn and the Mississippi legislature for passing this bill.

Getting to meet royalty, It’s a once in a lifetime meeting and something that 14-year-old Madelyn Sloan Berry recently experienced.

After being named the U.S. winner of the Royal Commonwealth Essay competition, Madelyn, who prefers to go by Sloan, went to London England where she had an audience with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

“Getting to meet her I was kind of star-struck, because what girl from Mississippi meets royalty? It was just this incredible experience,” Sloan said. “Everyone was really kind. I met a lot of people that day, but Camilla was the one that I will probably remember forever.”

However, the 8th grader said she didn’t enter the competition thinking she was going to win.

“I just entered it thinking ‘why not?’ just in case I could win,” Sloan said. “I wrote the essay, submitted it and then forgot about it.”

With anywhere from 30,000-50,000 applicants from around the world each year, only one student is chosen to represent each country.

The Royal Commonwealth Society is delighted to announce that The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2019 was yesterday launched by our Vice-Patron HRH The Duchess of Cornwall during a visit to Ghana International School in Accra, following an event that heard pupils read their gold award winning pieces from 2018.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall announced the 2019 theme ‘A Connected Commonwealth’, which calls upon young people to consider how they can work to use cultural, technological and environmental connections for positive change across the Commonwealth. The Competition is an opportunity for all young Commonwealth citizens and residents, regardless of region, education or background, to share ideas, celebrate their story and have their voice heard – all whilst developing key skills.

The launch is the first in recent memory to happen outside of the UK and will raise awareness of the Competition for children across the Commonwealth. It is one of several engagements in support of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition during the Royal Tour, including a school visit in The Gambia and a literacy event today in Nigeria.

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of The Royal Commonwealth Society, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for the Commonwealth and UN, on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government, hosted a reception at Lancaster House at which Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall was announced as the Society’s inaugural Vice-Patron.

The reception brought together representatives from Her Majesty’s Government, the Commonwealth diplomatic corps, Accredited Commonwealth Organisations and representatives from the Society’s international network of over 60 branches to highlight the ongoing work of the Society across a broad range of issues.

This includes work in the fields of trade, gender equality, LGBT rights, environmental conservation through The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, and youth literacy. The Society also delivers annual pre-eminent Commonwealth events such as the multi-faith Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey, which is attended by Her Majesty The Queen and Members of the Royal Family, and the High Commissioners’ Banquet.

This appointment builds on the relationship that The Duchess of Cornwall has had with the Society through her patronage of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition since 2014. The Competition is the world’s oldest international schools’ writing competition, founded in 1883 to promote literacy, self-expression, and creativity amongst young people throughout the Commonwealth.

Four young writers have been named as the Winners and Runners-Up of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2018, selected from approximately 12,000 entries from across the five regions of the Commonwealth. The competition is the world’s oldest international schools’ writing competition.

Representing almost every Commonwealth country, entrants wrote on pertinent topics such as the role of education in building a fairer future, what they would do as their country’s Head of Government for the day to improve life for young people, and their perfect recipe for a common future.

This year’s competition reflected the 2018 Commonwealth Theme of Towards a Common Future and its four sub-themes of A Fairer Future, A More Sustainable Future, A More Secure Future, and A More Prosperous Future which informed the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in London in April.